Tower of Pisa nears re-opening

The steel suspenders were not needed during the excavation work

PISA, Italy -- The leaning Tower of Pisa is almost ready to be re-opened to the public more than 10 years after it was closed.

Excavation work to stabilise the tower has been completed and steel suspenders, which had been attached to the tower, were removed on Tuesday.

The excavation work took longer than expected, but the tower is due to be ready for an inauguration ceremony on June 16, project overseer Paolo Heiniger said.

The 340-foot-long cables had been secured to the tower in 1998 as a precaution in case it needed to be pulled back up while the soil under its foundation was being excavated.

Anchored to giant winches dug into the ground about 100 yards from the tower, the suspenders did not need to be used.

The tower had been closed more than a decade ago, when officials feared it was beginning to lean so much that it might topple over.

When work began the tower leaned 6 degrees, or 13 feet, off the perpendicular on its south side.

By removing a small amount of soil, the tower has settled better and now leans about 16 inches less -- nearly the tilt it had 300 years ago.

The decrease in lean is not enough for the naked eye to detect but sufficient to stabilise the monument, experts have said.

In the past weeks, workers have also removed about 800 tons of lead counterweights placed at the base of the tower to stabilise it while work was underway.

The tower started leaning when the soil beneath it started shifting shortly after work to construct it began in 1173.